


Hurt

by ablackberrywinter



Category: Nancy Drew – HER Interactive (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-10
Updated: 2013-07-10
Packaged: 2017-12-18 08:42:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/877865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ablackberrywinter/pseuds/ablackberrywinter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank Hardy needs someone to help him out with a case. The only person he can find to rely on is Deirdre Shannon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hurt

(This will be a muti-part story).   
Deirdre looked up at the building before her. It was a run-down old pub. She checked the scrap of paper in her hand. It was the right address. Sighing loudly, she pushed open the door. The inside was very different to the outside of the building. It looked warm and cozy and so Deirdre was pleasantly surprised. She chose a booth near the fireplace that was warming the whole room. She waited quietly, watching the door.   
Finally, Frank Hardy arrived. He smiled a little smile at Deirdre before ordering some drinks.   
“Thanks for meeting me here.”  
“No problem, Hardy. What’s up?”   
“Well. It’s kind of complicated. Let’s a have a drink first.”  
Frank drank his drink slowly, driving Deirdre mad with anticipation. Deirdre drank her red wine quickly, watching Frank like a hawk.  
When he finished the last drop of his beer, Deirdre said “Alright. What’s going on, Hardy?”   
“Ok. Well, normally I’d get Joe to help me with this. But he’s on his honeymoon. So I need someone else to help me. You’re here in Ireland like I am. So it’s handy.”   
“What is?” Deirdre asked, puzzled.  
“Well, the case I’m working on. I need an extra set of eyes, and hands, to be honest. I’ve been hired to investigate a string of thefts. Mainly from resorts. They suspect an insider, someone who is working there, and an accomplice.”   
“Ok. And you think I could help out?” Deirdre was doubtful about how helpful she’d be. She looked down at her drink, not wanting to meet Frank’s eyes.  
“Yeah. I mean, I know you helped Nancy and the others on a few cases. You’re smart, you can look after yourself, and most importantly, you’re here!” Frank reached for Deirdre’s hand, and squeezed it.   
“Ok. I guess I could help out.”  
~   
A few days later:  
Deirdre adjusted her blazer. “Do I look like a young married woman?” She asked. She wore a smart blue blazer with skinny jeans, and a pair of flats. The flats were new for Deirdre who was used to teetering around in very high heels. However, with all the sleuthing she had to do, she knew flats would be a practical alternative.   
Frank pretended to look over her outfit carefully. “You look fine. Don’t worry.”   
“I’m not worried.” Deirdre lied. Frank noticed that Deirdre kept twisting the ring on her index finger. It was a nervous habit of hers.   
“Hey. Trust me. They’ll buy our cover story. We just need to stay there for a few days, and suss out all of the employees.”  
“I know. What if I’m not good at this?”  
“At what?”  
“At this sleuthing stuff. I mean, that was Nancy’s bag, not mine.”   
Frank took Deirdre’s hands into his own. “Trust me when I say this. You’re Deirdre. You’re not Nancy, and that’s ok. It’s time to stop comparing yourself to her.”   
“I know. It’s just hard. I always wanted to be like her. That’s what he wanted.” Deirdre felt a tear slide down her face. She was probably ruining her makeup, but she didn’t care. She was remembering all the times when Ned had looked past her to see Nancy. How it had hurt. How it still hurt.  
“You know what? Ned was silly for not seeing the woman before him. You are clever, and funny, and beautiful and sweet.” Frank said in a hurry. He felt a steady rush of emotion for Deirdre.   
“It just hurt. That he never saw me. He only saw her.” Deirdre couldn’t bring herself to say Ned Nickerson’s name.   
“He was a fool.” Frank whispered simply. He kissed Deirdre on the cheek softly which made her smiled slightly.  
“I probably look awful right.” She said, chuckling wryly.   
“You look fine. Are you ready to go?” Frank nodded towards the door.   
“Yep. I’m ready.”


	2. Feelings

Feelings  
“Hello, can I help you?” A gentleman in a black suit stood behind the polished marble counter. It looked very expensive. Deirdre could tell this resort was the kind of place Oprah would stay in.  
“Yes. Um, my wife and I are on a little holiday here. We’re booked under the name, Spencer.” Frank lied smoothly.   
The man took a couple of second to type something into his computer. “Ah yes, Mr James Spencer?”   
Frank nodded. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your room.” The man then turned to a young man, asking him to bring up the bags Frank and Deirdre had.   
He led them up a couple of floors, to a door. Using a keycard, he opened the door for them. “I trust you and your wife will have an enjoyable stay. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make your stay a pleasant one.”   
Frank looked at the man’s nametag. “Thank you, John. I’m sure we’ll have a lovely time here.” He placed his arm around Deirdre, which surprised her temporarily before she remembered their cover story.  
After the door was close, Deirdre sighed.   
“Thank goodness. It all went fine.”   
“Of course it did.” Frank smiled. Deirdre looked around the room. There was a large queen size bed backed against the far wall. Frank saw what Deirdre was looking at.  
“Don’t worry. There are two bedrooms in this room. I told them in advance that I snore.”   
Deirdre nodded. Frank had thought of everything. “Wow, you’ve certainly got it all worked out.”   
“Well, I’ve done this kind of thing before, so yeah, I know what to do. Anyway let’s get settled and we can start talking to some of the employees here.”   
There was a quiet knock on the door. Their bags had arrived. Deirdre went into the other bedroom which was nicely decorated, with a small fireplace, and another queen sized bed. Deirdre quickly touched up her makeup in the adjoining bathroom, before going into Frank’s room.  
Frank was pulling on a sweater over his blue t-shirt.   
“All ready?” Deirdre asked.  
“You’re not nervous about this part?”   
“Nope. Talking to people comes naturally to me.” Deirdre dimpled sweetly.  
“I bet it does!” Frank chuckled, “Ok, so I’m going to talk to the waiter downstairs. Do you want to book in for some beauty treatments, and check out the employees in that area?”  
“Do I? Yeah, of course. I needed a manicure anyway,” Deirdre showed Frank her nails, which looked perfectly lovely to him, and then said “So I just go and chat to them?”   
“Yep. Just get them talking about their job or the other employees. Someone is bound to have noticed some funny stuff going on.”   
“Alright. I think I can do that.”   
~  
Deirdre was in bliss. She sighed happily as a young woman, in her twenties, massaged Deirdre’s left hand.   
“So do you enjoy working here?”  
“Oh yes. I love the people who come to stay, my boss is really nice, and I’m never bored.”   
Deirdre wished she could have just enjoyed her manicure, but alas she had to keep chatting up the young woman, whose name was Ellie.   
“Do you get along with the other employees? I met John earlier.”   
“Oh, John is very nice. He’ll help you out if you need it. Everyone is here generally fun to work with.” Ellie then opened a bottle of hand cream, and began to smooth the cream over Deirdre’s hand.   
“It must be nice, not having any drama,” The conversation was getting boring, Deirdre thought, time to spice things up with a little white lie. “At my last workplace, there was one guy who was always goofing off. Never doing what he was meant to do.” Deirdre said in a low voice, as though she was imparting a deep secret.  
“Oh. I shouldn’t really tell you this. But there was one woman who worked here, and they fired her recently. Apparently, her behaviour wasn’t what they expected of their employees.” Then there was a knock on the door. Ellie’s head snapped up, obviously concerned her words had been overheard.   
“Hello Ellie, I’m just doing the rounds, and making sure everything is going ok?” A woman, maybe in her thirties, Deirdre thought, came into the room. She wore a blue suit, and her honey-coloured hair was up in bun.   
“Everything’s fine, thanks, June.” Ellie flashed a quick smile.   
“Alright. I hope you’re enjoy our facilities today.” June turned to Deirdre. ‘I spoke to your husband earlier.”   
At first Deirdre was confused. She didn’t have a husband.   
“Oh, Frank? Yes, he and I are just on a little holiday. We’re enjoying ourselves so far.”  
“That’s good.” With a nod to Ellie, June left the room.  
Deirdre decided to wait before asking further questions. Ellie then worked on Deirdre’s right hand, soaking the hand in some warm water. They chatted about other things, like clothes and makeup.  
“You know, if you want to, you could get a facial here as well. In fact, we’re having a little sale at the moment, and are discounting the cost of the facials.”  
“Well, how can I not? I’ll have to ask at the front desk to book me in.”  
“Actually, that’s where the woman I told you about worked. In the other beauty section. She used to do facials.”   
“Hmm, that’s interesting.” Deirdre decided to follow this up later on.  
~  
Later that night, Frank and Deirdre were dressing for dinner.  
“I heard that the dinner will be dressy. We’ll be seated at a table with other people staying here. Maybe we can find out some more about what’s happening here.” Frank said.  
“Did you learn anything today?”  
“Yep. Apparently a woman who used to work, doing the facials, was fired recently. I think that’s worth checking into.”   
“You’re right. I heard similar stories today as well. Tomorrow, I’m going to work on the kitchen staff, while you keep going with the beauty staff.”  
“Sounds good. I’ll just jump in the shower and get dressed.”   
After a hot, steamy shower, Deirdre dressed in a little black dress. Slipping into some familiar high heels, she positioned herself in front of the bathroom mirror. Lipstick was carefully applied, eyelashes curled, and finally, a pair of pearl earrings finished the look. Deirdre stepped back, smiling at her reflection.  
“Wow, you look very pretty.” Frank smiled. Deirdre had to admit to herself, Frank didn’t look so bad either.   
They had a filling dinner and some good laughs with new friends. At the end of the evening, Deirdre was ready to fall asleep.   
In the elevator, Deirdre kept giggling thanks to the number of red wines she’d had a dinner.  
“I’m sorry, but that woman’s hairdo was just too much. She looked like a poodle!” Deirdre giggled, and then hiccupped. Frank shushed her.  
“Come on, it wasn’t that bad.”   
“You saw it! It was that bad.”   
“Ok. You’re right. It was pretty bad.” Frank laughed with Deirdre this time.  
“I forgot how funny you are, Nan.”   
Deirdre froze. She looked at Frank steadily.  
“What?”   
“Oh god, I’m sorry. I meant Deirdre.”   
“That’s not what you said though. You called me by her name. That’s what he used to do too.”   
“I’m so sorry, Deirdre. I fucked up.” Frank said remorsefully.   
“Right. Whatever. I guess I’ll never compete with her. I shouldn’t have come here.”  
The elevator doors opened, and Deirdre stalked into her room. She slammed the door behind her.  
They both slept fitfully that night. Frank was angry with himself over the stupid mistake he made. Deidre cried early hours in the morning. She hated admitting to herself that it bothered her so much. She’d spent years being compared to Nancy. Her parents had expected her to be like Nancy, Ned had wanted her to be like Nancy. And now Frank. She had been hoping Frank would see her for who she is.   
The next morning, Deirdre was up early, packing her things. Hopefully she could slip away without having to explain to anyone why she was leaving her fake husband.   
“Deirdre?”   
She froze at the sound of her name.  
“I’m really sorry. Can you give me another chance?”  
“I don’t know. It hurts. It hurts being compared to her.”  
“I know. Nancy compared me to Ned all the time. She didn’t say it, well, she didn’t need to. I could see it in her eyes.”  
Deirdre turned to Frank. He’d never told her how it felt for him.  
“I know how it hurts. I’m good at solving mysteries, but I’m not like Ned. He’s great at football. He’s funny; he knows how to make Nancy smile with just a word. Or a look. I couldn’t do any of that.”   
“You’re funny.”   
“Do you think so?”  
“Yeah. You laughed with me last night. You have a sense of humour. I know it, Hardy.”   
“Thanks. Nancy never found me funny. Not like she found Ned funny.”   
Deirdre moved close to Frank, in spite of herself. “Well, maybe she never really knew you.”   
“Maybe he never really knew you.”   
Deirdre stood so close to Frank, she could feel his breath on her skin.   
“Will you please stay? I don’t want to solve this mystery without you.” Frank whispered.  
“Alright. Fine. But let’s make a pact. We’re not going to talk about them anymore.”   
“Deal.”   
With that, they shook hands.


	3. Bullet

~  
They had decided for the day, to go separately and interview some more of the workers at the hotel. Deirdre planted herself beside the pool, wearing a cute white eyelet bikini. She ordered a drink, hoping to get one of the waiters to come by so she could interrogate them.   
“Here’s your drink, Mrs Hardy.” At first, Deirdre was confused before she was once again reminded of the charade she and Frank were putting on.   
“Right. Thank you.’ Deirdre took a sip of her drink. It tasted fruity, but refreshing on such a day.   
“So, it’s a nice day.” Deirdre smiled up at the waiter.  
“Yes, it is,” The waiter stood there, smiling at Deirdre. He was clearly waiting for another order.  
Deirdre had to stall for time before he left to serve someone else.   
“Hey, could you tell me more about the services you guys offer here.”  
Lame. Very lame at attempt at stalling, Deidre told herself. But it worked. The waiter, whose nametag informed Deirdre that his name was Brady, proceeded to explain the various services they had there.   
“And we also have a gym – and yoga classes! Not that you would require any!” He smiled approvingly at Deirdre’s body. Deirdre frowned slightly. This guy obviously had no qualms about hitting on a married – even if it was fake – woman.   
“Right.”  
“We also have a range of beauty treatments, such as facials.”   
“Oh yes. I heard about those. Didn’t you guys have trouble with one of the employees in that area?”  
Brady stiffened. “Where did you hear that?”  
“Oh, around.” Deirdre hoped she sounded vague enough.  
“That’s confidential information. I can assure we have no problems in that area, and our services and employees are top notch, if you wish to take advantage of the services.” He pretended to look around.  
“I’m sorry, I must go now.”  
Deirdre sighed, sipping on her drink some more. She had struck a nerve there, for sure. Now to try and get an appointment for a facial. Something was up.   
~  
Frank had decided to work out in the gym. Hopefully he would overhear some gossip or some such. The gym was pretty empty. A few women were on the treadmills, talking and laughing away. Other than that, it seemed everyone was outside enjoying themselves.  
Frank huffed and puffed, regretting not keeping up his usual exercise regime. If Joe was there, he would have teased Frank mercilessly. Luckily, Joe was happily on his honeymoon, and far away from Frank.  
After twenty minutes, it was clear Frank was getting nothing, but fit. He needed to find a way to get into the employee area.   
Then, the gym doors opened. Deirdre walked in, wearing an oversized t-shirt, which Frank recognized as his own, and some yoga pants.  
“Hey Hardy.” Deirdre drawled.  
“What are you doing, wearing my clothes?” Frank asked, annoyed.  
“We’re married, remember. It’s what married people do, I think.” She blinked at him. “Honestly, I just like the look.”   
Frank rolled his eyes. “Have you got any more info?”   
“Yes. I talked to a waiter, a man who goes by the name of Brady, and he acted weird when I asked him about there being problems with the staff.”  
“Good. Let’s follow up on that.”   
~  
Frank and Deirdre went over to the beauty salon. The plan would be that Deirdre gets a facial – enabling her to pump the employee for information – while Frank would search for any clues.   
Deirdre sighed, closing her eyes. Having someone rub her skin felt so relaxing. But she couldn’t really relax, she knew. She had to work on the case. So it was time to start talking.  
Meanwhile, Frank was searching for any papers regarding the employee who had been fired.   
“Ha!” Frank murmured to himself. He found some papers regarding the firing.  
“Memo: To All Staff  
We have recently let Elizabeth Wyatt go from our family here.   
It is unfortunate, but sometimes a necessary part of running a hotel.   
We wish her luck with the future!”  
Frank looked up. He got out his phone, and used it to search for information on Elizabeth. Luckily, he had access to a large database that all kinds of information. The phone beeped, letting Frank know the search had been completed.  
“Hmm, she has a brother? Brady. Why does that name sound familiar?” Then Frank remembered.  
He did a search on Brady Wyatt.   
“Brady Wyatt: Age 27  
Born in Maryland, USA  
Had trouble as a youth with petty theft”   
Frank wondered if Brady and his sister had turned to a more serious form of theft as adults. “Either way, I better go tell Deirdre.”   
Frank searched hurriedly for the door to the room where Deirdre was. Finally he found it. Luckily Deirdre was alone with some sort of gunk covering her face.  
Frank leant down towards Deirdre. “Hey” he whispered into her ear.  
“Don’t freak out, but we should go now.”   
Deidre opened her eyes. “What? Why?”  
“I’ve figured out who is behind the thefts. We need to go and talk to the higher-ups at the hotel, ok?”  
Frank heard a click behind him.   
“Ooh, I don’t think so.”  
He turned around, coming face to face with Brady and Elizabeth. Brady was holding a gun, pointing it straight at Frank.   
“You two have been snooping around for too long.”  
Frank put his hands up, all while thinking of an escape plan. He saw a door that hopefully let to an garden or something.   
“Calm down guys, there’s no need for guns. Let’s talk about this.”  
“No. Talking is all you two have done, since you’ve come here. We need you to stop talking.” Elizabeth snarled.   
“So it was you two who stolen the money?” Deirdre asked. Stalling them was the only way to maybe get help, she thought.   
“Wow, that was pretty clever of you guys. So you worked together at hotels or?”  
“Sometimes together, sometimes separately.” Brady admitted.  
“Uh huh.” Deirdre sat up slowly, “And how come you did this?”  
“We don’t have any money. Never did. These places won’t miss it.”   
Elizabeth pushed her brother. “Stop talking. Let’s get rid of them now!”  
Frank looked at Deirdre. “RUN!”  
They both ran towards the door, banging it open. They ran out into the nearby forest. It was getting dark, and soon they wouldn’t have any light at all.  
~  
“Did you see where he went?” Frank looked around frantically. Deirdre shook her head. They move silently in the forest, occasionally stopping to listen for sounds. Then they heard a noise.   
Frank saw Brady. “It’s no use. Give yourself up now, and I’m sure they’ll go easy on you.”   
“No. They won’t.” Brady fired a shot. Deirdre screamed. And then there was nothing. Brady and Elizabeth ran into the distance.   
Deirdre turned away from them. All of her thoughts were focused on Frank.   
“Frank?”   
Frank’s shoulder was covered in blood. Deirdre pressed her hands onto the wound, trying to stop it.   
“Oh Frank. Hold on. People are coming ok?”  
There was no response. Deirdre cradled Frank’s head in her lap, watching his eyes flutter.   
‘Frank. I never told you this. But in case you don’t wake up, I should probably tell you now. I love you, Frank. I do.” Deirdre was sobbing as she spoke those words.   
“I love you too.” Frank whispered.   
The sound of the gunshot brought the police out. They rushed Frank to the Hospital.   
“Will he be ok?” Deirdre asked one of the nurses on duty.  
“I’ll get a doctor to speak to you about that.”   
Deirdre felt useless. She didn’t know Joe’s number or the Hardy’s number. She couldn’t call anyone. So she sat and waited. The hours crept past, and Deirdre got more and more worried about Frank.  
Finally a young woman came to speak to Deirdre.  
“He’ll be alright. Don’t worry. It just grazed his shoulder. You can go speak to him now, if you like.”  
Deirdre nodded, rushing into the room. Frank looked frail and small lying in the bed. The room felt too bright. But Deirdre just focused on Frank.  
“Hey, Hardy.”  
“Hey.” Frank smiled. Deirdre looked wrecked.   
“So you’re going to be alright.”  
“So they tell me.”  
She sat on the bed, next to Frank carefully.   
“Thank goodness. Because I needed to give you this.”  
With that, Deirdre leant down towards Frank, kissing him.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a three part story I wrote for my fan fiction months on tumblr. The prompts for each part were: Hurt, Feelings and Bullet.


End file.
